Some preach it! Some sing it! Some even pray it! But does the Bible teach it? Does the Bible teach, instruct or even imply that we should, could, or even should try to take back what the devil has stolen from us? I would like to suggest that, contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t!
First of all, we might be able to accuse the devil of many things, but we cannot “biblically” accuse him of being a thief! Now! I know what you are thinking! You heard some preacher, some teacher, or somebody say this: “The Bible says (some say: ‘Jesus said’) in John 10:10 that the devil is a thief! And he only comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy!” Well, if you would look at that text carefully, you might note that Jesus didn’t specifically identify “the thief” as being the devil! That’s a conclusion that somebody came up with who didn’t study the context of the text carefully! If you read my post: The Thief of John 10:10, you would discover that Jesus was NOT referring to the devil at all as the thief in that text! But I did a topical study, using the New Naves Topical Bible, on Satan, demons, and the devil, and I discovered that there is not one single reference to the devil being called a thief in the Bible! In Revelation 12:10, he is called “the accuser of the brethren.” I Peter 5:8 describe him as “the adversary,” going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. John 8:44 says that he is “a liar” and “the father of lies!” John 12:31 says he is “the prince of this world.” Paul describes him in Ephesians 2:2 as “the prince of the power of the air” and “the spirit that works in the children of disobedience.” In Ephesians 6:12, he is “the ruler of the darkness of this world.” In Matthew 12:14, he is “the unclean spirit” and later on in 13:19 he is called “the wicked one.” These are just a few of the numerous scriptures that directly and indirectly refer to Satan or the devil. He is called many things in the Bible; but nowhere is he called a thief!
Secondly, contrary to the idea of the devil stealing something from us, we should note an interesting dialogue that went on between Jesus and the devil in the wilderness when Jesus was being tempted. The dialogue seems to suggest that rather than stealing from us, the devil has a different agenda altogether! Look at Matthew 4:8-10 and the parallel text in Luke 4:5-8. The devil offered to Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world in their glory (this included, position, power, and wealth; the very stuff some say the devil comes to steal) if he would just fall down and worship him! Now, it’s true that the devil is a liar! But it is interesting to note that Jesus did not dispute the devil’s claim that the world was his to offer! In fact, according to Luke, the devil said: “for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” (Luke 4:6 NASB). And, if it had not been within the devil’s delegated power to make this offer to Jesus, it wouldn’t have been a temptation at all! Remember, in the references cited earlier, the Bible does describe him as “the god of this world.” My question is this: Why would the devil want to steal from us when he already has the kingdoms of the world to offer? Instead of thinking that the devil wants to steal from us, it is probably more feasible and biblically correct to think that the devil is more apt to offer us riches and material wealth in an attempt to lure us away from the Lord! The Bible does say that the love of money is the root of all evil. Jesus, in the parable of the sower, said that some seed fell among the thorns, which represented the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The bottom line is the devil already has access to the riches and material wealth of the world without trying to steal them from us!
Now, I heard a preacher allude to the story of David at Ziglag in I Samuel 30, as a reference text to illustrate an instance of taking back what the devil stole. But in all exegetical fairness, we should remember that David’s stuff was not stolen by the devil, but by the Amalekites. The main point of the story is really not so much about David getting his wives, children and material goods back from the enemy as it is about the fact that if David had not been out of position and away from his home, leaving the city unprotected, none of that would have happened in the first place!
In conclusion, let me just say that many times, it very well might be that we suffer losses in our lives, not so much because it is the work of the devil, but rather because of our own faults, failures, and lack of wisdom. In fact, the reason we lose some stuff may be, not because the devil stole it from us, but rather because we gave it to him! The devil really is not so desperate to get “stuff” that he has to resort to stealing it from us! And if the devil was a thief, he really wouldn’t be after any of the material things! He would want to steal our joy, our peace and our faith more than any to the material possession we might have! Yes! We can accuse the devil of many things, but according to the Bible, we cannot accuse him of being a thief!
Wow… um if you want to be a literalist then yes Jesus is not specifically referring to satan in John 10:10, but the character of satan is clearly portrayed in those who steal kill and destroy… ‘taken captive by the devil to do HIS will’ – the devil has been stealing since Book one – Genesis… with the fall of man and onward. He is a thief and will always be one.The ‘legality’ of your conclusion may be true, but it does not eradicate the fact that satan has been seeking to steal from God’s people since the beginning of time.
It’s not a matter of wanting to be a ‘literalist’ it’s a matter of being faithful to the text! I have no issue with the character of satan portrayed as one who kills, steals, and destroy. But if we are to be honest, we can’t use John 10:10 to make that assessment. When one looks at the context of John 10:10, it is apparent that Jesus was not referring to satan, but rather to the religious establishment of that day.
You may be the most mislead bible student I’ve seen. Did the Holy Ghost reveal this to you. He is a thief he wants to steal every spiritual gift Jesus has given us. And just like God uses minister the devil uses his to steal.
Thank you for reading the post! But, if you were to read the Bible carefully, you will not find anywhere where the devil steals! Most cite John 10:10, but the enemy in that verse is not the devil, but rather the religious leaders who were taking advantage of people for their own selfish gain. As far as me being a misled Bible student, please pray for me!
Actually, I totally agree with you Pastor Miller because all this stuff about taking back what the devil stole is not right. Why would anyone who is a child of God want to take back something that is stolen by someone who taints everything he touches? I have heard people that I associate with online that believe that we can take back things that the devil has stolen. But, after reading your article, it has confirmed to me they are wrong. That comes from the Word of Faith group believing that the devil stole from children of God and we can take the stuff back. The devil cannot give joy, peace, or any other blessing that the Lord bestows on the children of God. Thank you for your candid statements in this article. May I quote you to show that they need to re-evaluate what they have been telling people for years and it is not actually right what they have told people? The account in the Bible with David and Ziglag is where they cite that the devil steals, but they are substituting the devil for the Amalekites like you said actually stole from them. I cringe every time they sing, “I went to the enemies camp and took back what he stole from me.” It is an unBiblical song and whoever wrote it needs to read your article. Thank you for being candid and teaching this. God Bless you!
If the devil wants to steal our joy and our peace…to steal….what is not yours, wouldn’t that describe a thief…
Ralph, it is true, the devil does indeed want to steal our joy and our peace. I am not disputing that! I am simply saying that the devil was not who Jesus was referring to in John 10:10!
Still would like some clarification based on the scripture John 10:10. Jesus, does mention the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. So isn’t the one who kills is consider a murderer, one who steals is consider a thief. Does not the enemy introduces his “riches” in order to steal our Joy, peace and our blessings? What does Jesus mean when he mentions the enemy comes to steal is that not a thief?
The issue is not ‘what’ the enemy does, the issue is ‘who’ the enemy is! If you would read the context of the text carefully, beginning with John 10:1, you will discover the identity of the thief. Nowhere in this text does Jesus say the thief is the devil or Satan! He does, however, specifically say that anyone who tries to enter the sheepfold by any other way than the gate is a thief and a robber (John 10:1) In verse 8, he says that all who came before him were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them! When Jesus referred to the thief, thieves, and robbers, he WAS NOT talking about the devil or Satan! He WAS TALKING about the FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADERS! Note that the thief, thieves, and robbers Jesus talked about did not come to steal or rob the sheep of what they had; they came to rob and steal the sheep! They came to destroy the sheep! They came to kill the sheep! My point in this post is that no matter what we may think the devil does, we cannot honestly accuse him based on this text, because Jesus was not talking about the devil, he was talking about the false religious leaders when he said: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. . . .”
This is so true but I truly believe that the devil had entered the minds of these Religious Leaders to make them do what they did
Debbie, we must allow the verse to mean what the original author meant for it to mean; not what we think it means! If you would read John 10:1-10, you might note, Jesus uses the term, thief, thieves, and robbers to refer to the religious rulers NOT the devil. Even if the devil was inspiring them to act in the manner they did, they bore the responsibility for their actions. I do not dispute the fact that the devil wants to steal our joy and peace, I am simply saying Jesus was not primarily referring to the devil in John 10:10!